That Was Then, This Is Now
by doramatikku
Summary: Iruka and Kakashi delve back in memories of the first time they've met. Iruka x Kakashi (sort of) First posted at the LJ community TempsMort
1. Beginning

That was then, this is now.

Back then, we were kids. We could have done anything we wanted to, and it wouldn't have seemed out of place. (Of course, holding hands and the like would not have been a part of that 'anything', since the image of you and me holding hands is already out of place.)

We could have gone fishing like we used too, lazed around in the sun's burning heat before jumping into the icy coolness of the river's water. Or we could have studied our ninjutsu like we were supposed to (but that wouldn't have been any fun).

Before I met you, things were alright. I was always alone, always on my own, but I had grown used to it, sort of. Funny how much you have to adapt to life after both of your parents are suddenly gone. But what's even funnier is how one little comment can suddenly gain you a new friend.

You had dropped your book, that infamous book; I remember it quite clearly:

"Hey, you dropped your book."

"Oh thanks."

Always the cool one, weren't you, Kakashi?

I had caught a glimpse of it, then I handed it back to you, appalled by the graphic images and suggestive reading.

"You actually read that stuff?"

"Yeah, what of it?"

We stared at eachother, for a moment or two. Maybe for a couple of minutes.

"You're Iruka, right?"

"Yeah, and you're Kakashi?"

"Yeah. You wanna grab a bite to eat?"

And that was it. After three bowls of ramen (and me lending you the five dollars that you always 'forgot' to pay back), we became friends, just like that. We did everything together: we bathed in the pond, we rolled down the grassy hills, and I even agreed to read Icha Icha Paradise with you. Remember? I lasted five seconds before I fainted from the blood lost.

But now, things are different. Where is the casualness that was once there? The atmosphere of comfort?

The smoke of the bathhouse fumed and frosted the tiles with their heat.

"So how are Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke? They still a handful?"

"Yeah," you turn the page of Icha Icha Paradise, careful not to soak the tips too much with your fingertips. The bathwaters are warm, and we were both relaxing after a busy day: I had sorted papers and you trained the future shinobi of our village, but something was amiss, the old familiarity was gone.

"So..."

"Wait, it's getting to the good part."

"What?"

"The book."

"Oh."

Silence once again. Oh, how I hate this awkward silence. What has happened? You always used to talk, even when you were reading that cursed novel!

"Hey, Kakashi, remember that time I fainted? We were what? Twelve? I agreed to read Icha Icha Paradise with you."

"Haha, yeah. You idiot, she was just in her underwear and you had a nosebleed with enough blood to fill a basin."

Good old memories, they eased the quietness for a moment, but only for a measly moment. Silence filled the bath again.

Then, you put your book down.

"Where's the extra towel?"

"I don't know."

"Oh, I see it."

You reach over, your body brushing against mine and your arms extending to the towel that lay undisturbed in the corner. I had an urge then, an urge that I couldn't fight. So, I acted on it.

I pushed your head, dry silver hair and all, and submerged you into the water.

Like a fish on land, you jumped back up, gasping for air and recovering from the shock. I couldn't stifle my snicker.

"Iruka! You dumbass! What was that for?"

"I couldn't help it, you were just too... vulnerable."

"What the hell?" You swiped the towel I had on my thigh and slapped me on the head with it before you used it to wipe the excess water from your face. "We're not kids anymore, you know."

And that did me in.

So time has changed our relationship. All these memories I had hoped to relive, like us fishing in the river, are nothing but memories. I sank a little, letting the water come to my chin. You don't notice how much that hurt, both the slap and the words, because you've stuck your nose back into that damned book.

I sighed and mumbled to no one in particular, but I doubt you heard me.

"That was then, this is now."

Author's notes: This was written for a challenge at the LJ community tempsmort, therefore it won't be continued.


	2. Middle

You walked out first. The water ran from your body a like a million tiny rivers as you got out of the bath and wrapped the dry towel around yourself. The steam still hissed from your skin.

Were you still mad? It was only a little prank, or maybe just a harmless shove. Or maybe I overdid it?

Maybe you just didn't like getting your head wet.

"Wait, Kakashi. I'm sorry, alright?" I relucantly rose out of the warm waters, with the coldness of the air biting me, causing hairs to raise all over the place. I stumbled around, trying to catch up; by the time I had my pants on, you were already out the door. "Dammit, Kakashi, wait!"

It took me a moment just to start running after you, and after that moment, I was so determined with catching up to you, I didn't see you stop. I was even panting; I panted so hard, I didn't hear the man selling sweet potatoes yelling in a frantic voice about his runaway cart.

Naturally, with the circumstances, it would have been pretty hard for me to avoid the cart of steaming sweet poratoes that came charging my way. So charge my way it did.

The last thing I heard was the loud thud, the last thing I smelled was the dust of the road, and the last thing I saw was the sun, high above the sky.

Author's note: ... omgackt, my first multi-chaptered fanfiction. And no, for your curious minds, it doesn't end here. That would be much too cruel to have Iruka suddenly die. Because he's my favorite character, he will not die from getting run over by a sweet potato cart.


	3. Then

A cold winter's day meant that everything everywhere was cold; even if we were the village of fire, it was still pretty cold.

I don't know about you, but even underneath all my layers of assorted shirts and boxers, I was still cold. But funny how a moan could make you feel like the world was on fire, a burning blaze that would melt even the thickest of ice.

To make matters worse, I lived in a run down studio with no hot water to bathe in and no heater to keep my toes from freezing throughout the night. Why you wanted to spend the night here in the first place, I haven't the foggiest idea, but I guess you weren't the typical twelve year-old like I thought you were.

You were something else, Kakashi, something completely different from what I was used to.

"Hey, Iruka, how come there's no hot water?" The faucet let out a groan as you twisted it's rusted handle back and forth, spitting out cold water like a great river monster.

"I don't have any. I never said I lived in a luxury home. Let's just go to your place."

"Nah, my parents would flip at what we're gonna do tonight." Casually, you turned off the water, giving up when you didn't have any faith in it to begin with.

"Kakashi, just what are we going to do?" It was daring, the tone of your voice. For a minute, I was scared; what would two innocent boys like us do in the dark of night that would make even Kakashi's parents worry? Surely they might have already guessed at what their son's reading interests are.

"You'll see. Later, that is."

Or maybe they had no clue.

I threw a handful of sticks into the busted stove of mine along with whatever pieces of coal I had left. The fire that I started was pitiful, nothing more but smoke and embers.

"Iruka, you're pathetic." From the corner of my eye, I watched you shuffle around in the dark before coming over with a shiny tin. "I was saving this for some later use, but I guess if we're to survive the night, I have to use it." You squirted it, it's clearless liquid sailed into the stove and the glowing embers before there was a big boom; flames soon erupted in the stove and I quickly shut the latch to contain it.

"What the heck was that?" I started at him, still startled by the sudden noise.

"Gas."

"... You had gas in your bag? For what?"

"For something. But we can't do that anymore since we need the gas in case the fire goes out again. Such a shame."

I thought you were odd before, reading pornographic novels (with detailed images included), but this certainly brought you onto a new level of weird.

"So what do you want to do now?" I asked; I was growing nervous with worry. Ever since my parents died, no one came to the house, and I mean no one. No one wanted to associated themselves with an orphan boy, no one paid attention to me, much less came over to keep me company. Of course I was nervous.

"Iruka, c'mere." I scooted over to the front of the stove, where the light of the fire danced across your shadowed face. You grinned the most creepiest grin I had ever seen.

The book in front of us looked new, in fact, I knew it was new because it was still covered in plastic. And it still had it's yellow tape, bright and flashy, the bold words of "Explict Content: Not For Anyone Under 18 Years of Age" was also hard to miss. You tore at the book, freeing it from the bondage of plastic and warning labels, and as soon as it was free from the rubble, I watched as you gently opened it's cover. The cover with the words "Icha Icha Paradise" faded into the shadows and a new page was revealed, a page with a fairly attractive young woman in the most conservative dress I had ever seen.

"She's pretty." I commented; I wasn't much for girls since I never bothered to check out any of them, but she certainly seemed pretty, with her nice smile and neatly combed hair tied into a bun in the back of her head.

"Just you wait." You flipped the page. I nearly peed in my pants.

The same woman, only in a twisted position, with her fact distorted and her laced undergarments clung like dark tattoos on her skin. There was a shadowed figure above her.

"KAKASHI, CLOSE IT!"

"Why? It hasn't even gotten to the good part yet!"

I turned away and faced the opposite wall, my back turned to the book and the stove. "That's just..."

"Aww, is little Iruka a big weenie?" You taunted, that smile stretching further until it was cheek-to-cheek.

"I am not! It's just that... that's gross!"

"I bet you're scared. You can't even look sit here and read it with me. HAHA, that's okay. I always thought you were a baby." It was ruthless and it was cold, but somehow it worked. You went back to your book.

I still sat facing the wall, my mind running over your taunts again. Finally, I boiled over, "I am not a baby." I adjusted by position until I was facing the book again. My face was still spazzing as I forced myself to look at the next picture. This time, she was buck-naked, and the shadowed figure now had a face; much to my disgust, the 'shadow' was a naked man, a man so buff and angular that it seemed physically impossible.

"'She moaned with pleasure as he came.' Wow, this is getting to the best part." You continued reading.

"Kakashi, is it just me, or is it getting really hot in here?" I looked around nervously, but it was true; my ears felt like they were burning, and the layers of clothes that had provided me warmth earlier was now creating an inferno as it clung to my skin.

"Take off your layers then. Hey, Iruka, you know what people sound like when they do this?"

"Do what?"

"This!" He points to the picture of the man and woman.

"... Kakashi, I don't think I even want to know."

You scoot closer to me, close enough for me to feel you breathing on my face. Then you whisper in my ear, gently with the quietest voice you could muster

Then you made 'the noise'.

My head was dizzy with explosions, the sound of moans replayed in my head over and over again as I felt something in my nose burst, and all this blood came pouring out. I was tasting blood, seeing blood, and (though it should have been impossible) I was smelling blood too. Everything was drowned in blood and I think I fainted.

I woke up the next morning; I woke up with the sunset. My head hurt and my fingers felt crusty from something, I just couldn't remember what at first. As soon as my eyes focused, I saw the dying embers from the stove, the blood crusted between the cracks of the tile (which would be hell to clean up), and the piles of bloodsoaked clothes on the floor. You were sleeping next to me, with your back turned towards me, and you were holding that damned book.

"Ergg..."

And that was then.

Author's note: That was an abrupt ending; this chapter didn't go as I had planned for it to go, but maybe I'll fix that. Someday. If I ever get around to it, that is. But no, this is not the end. I hope this isn't too explict for a teen rating?


End file.
